Top seed Stan Wawrinka avoided a repeat of his upset at the hands of Tatsuma Ito at last year's Japan Open. The two met again on Wednesday with the Swiss surviving in three sets.
Wawrinka Exacts His Revenge
Last year, Stan Wawrinka came to the Japan Open as the top seed and promptly lost to Japanese wild card Tatsuma Ito in the opening round 7-5, 6-2. This year, Wawrinka is again the number one seed and also had to face Ito again. This time it came in Wednesday's second round with Wawrinka coming out on top 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. The top seed came out firing on all cylinders as he controlled the opening set with his serve. Despite only getting in 46 percent of his first serves, Wawrinka was able to utilize a good second serve as he won 20 of 24 service points in all. He scored the only break needed in a lengthy sixth game that saw four deuces and three break chances. In the second set, Wawrinka's level dipped after a couple of easy service holds to open. At 3-2 in favor of Ito, Wawrinka was flat as the man from Japan broke him for the first time to take a 4-2 lead. Ito would net a second break to ensure a runaway win 6-2 in the second. Ito was much more effective with his own serve, taking 82 percent of the first serve points for the set.
The final set started perfectly for the top seed as he immediately broke Ito for a 1-0 lead. After fighting off a couple of break points on his own serve to hold, Wawrinka would get a second break of serve to move out to a quick 3-0 lead. That bonus break would prove fruitful as Wawrinka struggled to get his first serve in consistently. As a result, Ito was able to get one of the breaks back in the sixth game to cut the deficit to 4-2. The top seed would not waver the rest of the way though as he made it out of a long final service game. The Swiss finally converted on his fourth attempt at match point to book his spot in the quarterfinals. Afterward, Wawrinka told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that he was fortunate to win, "It wasn't my best match for sure. I struggled a little bit to find my rhythm but the most important thing for me was to get to the quarter-finals."
Three More Quarterfinal Spots Secured
Three other players joined Wawrinka in the quarterfinals with wins on Wednesday. Second seed and defending champion Kei Nishikori was red hot on serve against American Sam Querrey. The result was a 7-6 (3), 6-3 win for Nishikori. The second seed won an astounding 33 of 36 points on first serve in the match and never faced a break point. He was able to break Querrey twice on three break chances with both breaks coming in the final set. Nishikori told The Associated Press after the match that a big key was winning the opening set tie break, "With the strong wind and playing against a big server like him, I needed a lot of concentration. After winning the tiebreak, I was able to settle down and relax more in the second set."
Third seed Gilles Simon took advantage of a poor serving day from Jiri Vesely to send the Czech out of the tournament 6-4, 6-2. The first set featured five breaks of serve as the score line bounced back and forth. Simon would be made to work hard as he saved four break points late after taking a break lead in the seventh game of the opening set. The second set was a smoother ride for the Frenchman who held in all four of his service games and broke Vesely in his third. Simon would get one more break for insurance to roll through the set. The final man to claim a quarterfinal spot on Wednesday was unseeded Gilles Muller. His powerful lefty serve carried him through against Jeremy Chardy 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5). Muller crushed 17 aces and won 88 percent of his first serve points. He also was perfect in saving all seven of break points for the match.
First Round Completed
Two seeds got late starts this week with sixth seeded Marin Cilic and seventh seeded Feliciano Lopez playing their first round matches on Wednesday. Cilic outlasted American Donald Young in three sets 7-5. 5-7, 6-4. The sixth seed was forced to fight back from down 5-3 in the first before rallying to take the opener. Cilic admitted to reporters after the match that the wind was causing him issues with his serve, especially late in the match. Both players struggled to get their first serves in as a result, with both getting just 49 percent in play. Cilic was just a bit better in the key moments and won a higher percentage when he landed his first serve. The Croat won 84 percent of his first serve points with Young taking just 70 percent of his first serve points. The American was constantly battling to hold his serve, saving ten of 14 break points in the match.
Feliciano Lopez was the only seeded upset victim on Wednesday. Joao Sousa beat him 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. Lopez, the Kuala Lumpur runner-up, was unable to find the big serve that helped him work to last week's final. The lefty won just 64 percent of his first serve points with Sousa bettering that at 73 percent. The Spaniard was broken four times in the match which was just twice more than he was broken in four matches last week at the Malaysian Open. Sousa's win was just his third on outdoor hard courts in his last eight tournaments this season.
Thursday's Schedule
Marin Cilic will be the only seed in action on Thursday as the other four quarterfinal spots will be decided. Cilic is set for the second match of the day on Center Court against Steve Johnson. Kicking off the day's schedule will be Sousa against qualifier Austin Krajicek. Following the Cilic-Johnson match, Nick Kyrgios takes on Roberto Bautista-Agut with Benoit Paire and Marcos Baghdatis paired in the final singles match of the day.